Suspect arrested after KIO township official found dead in Hpakant

The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) has arrested one suspect and is searching for another following the killing over the weekend of a local official in Kachin State’s Hpakant Township, according to a KIA officer. The victim, Sai Aung Nan, 40, served as a township official with the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), the KIA’s political arm, in Hseng Taung, a village west of Hpakant under the group’s control. His body was discovered on Monday near the village of Hpar Pyin, in a lake that had previously been used for jade mining. “A report was received yesterday morning about a body floating in a former mining lake,” the KIA officer said on Tuesday. “I went to inspect the scene and confirmed it was the township officer, who had been killed and disposed of there.” The officer said Sai Aung Nan was taken from his home in the village of Seik Mu early Sunday by his subordinate, Mone Jack Aung, and two other men, who reportedly told him they needed his assistance to resolve a case. The officer said investigators believe Mone Jack Aung and the two men who accompanied him were involved in the killing. Mone Jack Aung, who was identified as the primary suspect, remains at large. A second suspect believed to have been involved in the killing was arrested by KIA forces on Monday night and is being questioned, the officer said. Investigators believe the killing may have stemmed from a gambling-related financial dispute, although the investigation remains ongoing. The officer also said disputes involving jade mining interests in Hpakant are often complex. Since mid-2025, the KIA has controlled jade-mining areas and several villages west of Hpakant and has collected taxes on jade production in territory under its control. Myanmar Now contacted KIA information officer Col. Naw Bu for comment on the case, but did not immediately receive a response. Hpakant, the centre of Myanmar’s lucrative jade industry, has experienced frequent violence in recent years, including clashes between Myanmar’s military and KIA forces, targeted killings, and deadly mining accidents. On June 27, five men were killed when a mine waste pile collapsed near Nam Hmaw, a village west of Hpakant, while they were scavenging for jade. Fifteen others were reported missing. Although fighting around Hpakant has recently subsided, a Hpakant-based officer with the Kachin People’s Defence Force said the military has been reinforcing its positions, raising concerns that major clashes could resume. Elsewhere in Kachin State, fighting continues in Shwegu and Bhamo townships, despite a relative lull in some other areas.

Suspect arrested after KIO township official found dead in Hpakant

Hpakant, the centre of Myanmar’s lucrative jade industry, has experienced frequent violence in recent years

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